


The Moon as Honey

by kai of the wild (nakamoon)



Category: NCT (Band), WayV (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Alternate Universe - Space, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, but it's only there very minimally if u look for it, hints of PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26528236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakamoon/pseuds/kai%20of%20the%20wild
Summary: Ten is a galactic mercenary, one of the best. Taeil is a honey farmer on the moon.Amongst challenges and tribulations, they make it work.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Moon Taeil
Comments: 13
Kudos: 90





	The Moon as Honey

**Author's Note:**

  * For [helicases](https://archiveofourown.org/users/helicases/gifts).



> Hello! I don't know who else likes Ten/Taeil besides 4, maybe 5 people, that I'm aware of, but here is some food! Thank you to [telomirage](https://twitter.com/telomirage) for commissioning this story! Really gave me the chance to write my two biases together, finally!
> 
> big thank you to sam for betaing this, as always!

🪐

The same week Taeil opens Moon’s Moon Honey, Ten tells him the big news.

The sky outside is dark of course, as it always is in the vast northlands of the Earth moon, Moon. Taeil is opening up boxes, almost sneezing at all the dust they’re leaving behind.

“I got in,” he says, resting his chin up atop of his hand as he chews on a chocolate bar, “Pluto Squadron.”

Taeil looks up, mouth slightly agape. He closes it at once, not wanting to inflate Ten’s ego more than it already is. He goes back to his boxes, but the smile on his lips is still visible. “I told you you would, didn’t I?”

“You most certainly did,” Ten smiles back, leaning back on the glass counter. “Aren’t I amazing?”

“Stop fishing for compliments.”

“I’m not! I just want facts!” He walks over to Taeil, crouching down next to him - big, shit-eating grin on his face, “C’mon, tell me I’m amazing.”

“You’re ok,” Taeil says with ease, taking out a jar of bright moonbees before passing it to Ten. “You’ll only be great if you help me with all the jars. I gotta move them out before sunset.”

“Ah,” he sighs, “The things I do for you, hyung.” With no reproach, Ten takes the small jar from Taeil, peering into the crystal clear container and getting cross-eyed looking at the small moonbees that shine brightly against the background, a soft, warm amber glow coming off from them as they fly lazily amongst each other.

“You said you would help me, so help me.”

“Yessir.”

The rest is spent in mostly amicable silence. Although it’s not really silent, not when it’s Ten and Taeil involved. Because every five minutes, Taeil starts humming a song he’s heard on the radio back on Earth, and it gets louder and louder until he's singing it at the top of his lungs, like he usually does. And then Ten, like he usually does, stands up and leaves what he was doing behind, and starts dancing, flowing movements that he just came up with right now and it's very ridiculous, don't get them wrong - but it's fun. It's fun in only the way they know how to do it.

And then Taeil laughs until it dies down and they realize they just wasted ten minutes doing nothing. It's good for the soul, Taeil reasons, a good bout of laughter.

"I'm going to miss you," he says, stretching his legs and arms and leaning back against the pale tree behind him.

It's true. If there's one thing Taeil likes about himself, is his honesty. He's going to miss Ten, he hasn't been without his _best friend_ in years and suddenly he's going away? For months and months and months at a time. He's happy for him, he really is! Elated and proud and not in the least bit surprised because ever since Ten told Taeil that he was applying for the Milky Way Forces, Taeil knew it was a done deal. Ten is just like that, bright and powerful.

"I know," Ten grins at him and even though he's trying to be cheeky, Taeil can see the sincerity in his sparkling eyes. "I'm going to miss you too."

"It's going to be great, can you imagine how peaceful life will be without your screaming?" He doesn't want Ten to worry about him, he'll be fine, as long as he has his moonbees, Taeil will be fine.

Ten takes the bait, his eyes still hazy. "Don't worry, I'll be back to bother you all the time, it's not like I'm going away forever. It's just a job."

"I'll hold you to it then."

-

Ten is fucking great, he really is. It’s not arrogance talking, he just knows his worth.

It is not his fault that the kids at his high school can’t see that, it’s not his fault that they are a bunch of bullies and assholes and idiots. He wishes all of them would choke on a spacerock and die.

So there he is, alone and slightly cold, just outside of their gym as the music inside blares. He’s missing his highly-anticipated prom because some jocks decided to pull a prank on him; now he’s all wet and publicly humiliated and smelling like artificially flavored cherry punch and his hair is going to get all sticky and -

Ten is strong, he doesn’t let words get to him, he doesn’t let dumb pranks get to him nor people talking behind his back. He can deal with all that, his skin is steel because he’s prepared himself for this since he was little.

But right now - right now Ten feels everything that’s bottled up inside him, twisting inside his guts and he can feel it rise up like bitter bile and he can’t stop the feeling and before he realizes it, Ten lets out a stifled sob.

He doesn’t mind being strong but sometimes he doesn’t want to be. Sometimes he just wants to enjoy prom and dance and drink spiked punch and have fun and why is that so hard to ask?

He feels a slight weight on the other side of the shabby wooden bench, the muffled sound of music still playing in the background. He sniffles, dread coursing through him at the thought of anyone seeing him cry like this. With slight regret, Ten uses the sleeve of his suit to wipe away at the tears, hoping he’s not looking too red in the face.

Curious, he peeks at whoever clueless person has decided to sit next to a crying, pathetic boy.

“Taeil sunbae?” he asks, tears forgotten in a moment. Moon Taeil, an amicable yet popular student a year above Ten’s grade. Everyone knows of Taeil, not everyone knows him.

The only reason Ten is acquaintances with him is because they’re both in the Music Department. They don’t really talk but are friendly with each other in passing. At the very least, Taeil is nice to him, always nice.

“They’re assholes, aren’t they?” Taeil sighs, hands in his pockets, legs stretched out.

“Nothing new.”

“Can’t wait to get out of this place,” he says and Ten understands that sentiment more than anyone. At the very least, Taeil is about to graduate, only a few more weeks and he is free. Ten dreads the next full year.

“What are you doing? After graduation, I mean,” he says instead, “Music?”

Taeil smiles, his eyes forming into crescent moons, sparkly. He really is a very unassuming boy, the type that fades into the background, the type that has no problems with anyone, too much of a wallflower to incite anything. Still, he is well-liked. Ten believes he is the complete opposite of his senior. “I want a farm.”

“A what?”

“A farm,” he shrugs, “You know, moonhoney and cosmicmilk and all that. It’s great.”

“How does one go about getting a farm?” he asks. The idea of owning a farm is out of the realm of Ten’s considerations.

Once again, Taeil shrugs. “I don’t know. I’ll find out after I graduate. But it can’t be that hard, can it?”

Ten supposes that no, it can’t be that hard.

“Anyway, do you want to get out of here?” he asks, “I hate prom.”

-

The secret to getting the sweetest moonhoney is to sing to the moonbees every morning. Not just any song - no, his bees are particularly finicky and so, Teenage Dream by Katy Perry is a necessity for them. They’re kind of ridiculous but Taeil likes spoiling them. And so, he sings to them for a few minutes, watching as they buzz around the place in happiness. He waters the few purple carrot crops that are nearby before going to the front of the shop, where he just cleans up and lazes around until a customer barges in. He likes his mornings and he likes his job, even if sometimes it gets a little too quiet. Once in awhile, Taeyong visits him, always a fan of bee-watching and laughing at Taeil’s jokes. Other times, it is Yuta who comes in with Earth food for lunch and they talk about how well things are going for each other.

And they’re great, really, but it is on the second of every lunar month that gets Taeil the most excited. The place gets significantly brighter, louder too.

“Hello, stranger,” Ten grins at him, his hair just a bit longer than when Taeil last saw him. His grin, just the same.

Taeil smiles back. It hasn’t even been that long but there’s never a time he doesn’t miss Ten. This is a bit unfortunate because Taeil does not like thinking about that; he doesn’t mention it but he still smiles because it is impossible to not do so when Ten is around. “Hey, stranger,” he says back, “Are you here to buy moonhoney?”

“Is it good?”

“The best!”

Ten’s eyes crinkle, forming dimpled puffs under his eyes, “Then I’ll buy all of your jars, hyung.”

Absence sure does make the heart grow fonder. Or something along those lines, Taeil isn’t sure if fondness is the right word to use, but his heart does clench whenever his mind strays too far away and he starts thinking of Ten and it’s a little bit too much sometimes and then he gets embarrassed and -

Somewhere along the line, Ten - loud, irreverent, proud - wormed his way into Taeil’s heart. That is a lie, Ten had always had a special place in Taeil’s heart but now, it is a different place. Maybe more to the center? Maybe more in a place that makes him think of holding hands with Ten, of pinching his cheek and telling him it's going to be okay. Except he does all of that already, Taeil is just embarrassed to admit of wanting something more.

“How's galactic travel? Having fun?” he asks instead as they walk to the front of the store together, it’s not likely a customer will barge in, not at this hour so early in the day.

“As if,” Ten rolls his eyes, “Job’s been tough but… I like it, I think I do.” Then, with a smile that looks like a comet, he says, “Not as much as I like the moonbees though.”

Taeil ruffles his hair. “And here I thought that the one you liked was me,” Taeil sweats at what the words could mean. Sometimes he feels a little brave, even if he’s the only one who knows how brave he is trying to be.

“I guess I like you too,” Ten says and sometimes, Ten feels a little brave as well, even if Taeil doesn’t know he’s being brave.

“C’mon,” Taeil waves at him with a content smile, “Let’s get some breakfast.”

-

The next time he sees Ten, he tells Taeil two things.

One, he already knew. The other, he did not.

He absolutely hates both.

“We’re going to war,” Ten says, he attempts a light smile, as if the words aren’t all that, as if war is just a slight inconvenience in his line of work.

Taeil already knew this - much of the Milky Way already knew, or at least suspected of it. With conflict and tension brewing amongst their cluster of galaxies, it was a more of _when_ rather than _if_. Taeil hated thinking about it, in his mind, Ten would not have to deal with any of this, right? He was just starting out, he was just a squad member stationed in the Earth-Mars System, it was okay.

“I was promoted,” Ten says. Then, he hesitates, “Special Forces and all that.”

Taeil doesn’t know what _Special Forces_ means. He just knows that Ten is good, Ten is deadly on the field, Ten must be a necessity in this war and this was just a matter of time and circumstance. This kills Taeil.

He stutters out, his breath short but just like Ten, he feigns nonchalance, “What does that mean?”

He shrugs, “Higher pay, a shinier badge.”

“That sounds good.”

“Yes. I’ll buy that house by the Venus beaches in no time.”

“You’ll let me visit, right?”

“What are you talking about? You’ll have your own room and everything.”

Ten is probably more worried about his reaction than anything, so much for a dependable older friend, huh, Taeil? He smiles, this time, just a little bit brighter. “I’ll hold you to that.”

-

Promotion, Ten thinks bitterly. That was one way to put it.

He doesn’t like worrying people, much less Taeil, and technically telling Taeil he’d gotten a promotion wasn’t really a lie, just an omission of information.

He’s seen things. He’s not out on the battlefield, he’s not out there in a spaceship fighting and blasting off lasers. Ten’s job is quieter, sneakier, harder. Definitely more dangerous.

Taeil doesn’t need to know, what would he even say? What would he do? Tell him not to go? And what would Ten do? Stay?

The ache in his leg flares up and Ten tries to suppress the groan as much as he can; he’s all patched up now, with bandages and ointment he got back at the Medical Center, still, he can’t help but limp just a little bit as he’s recovering, his whole body screaming for some rest. He can’t. He promised Taeil he would visit him every time they came back home, to the Lunar station.

He walks through the winding dirt path that leads to the farm, the trail so familiar to him now, his steps taking him without much thought. Soon, the yellowish trees of honey are in sight, signaling the start of the farm. It feels like when you come back from a tiresome day at school, at a job. Ten doesn’t have that luxury, his living quarters are in the space station he works at - this is the closest he has to home. Even if he’s a little sore, if it hurts a little to come all the way here, he doesn’t mind. The smell of mint is in the air.

Taeil welcomes him like every other time, with a placid smile and shining eyes and Ten can’t help but mirror his face. They’re different, oh so very different, and he feels eons away from Taeil, like he’s trying to catch up. Taeil waits for him, he always does, unaware that Ten orbits around him and has always done so. He never wanted to stray too far from Moon Taeil.

Taeil is in the middle of a one-sided conversation, excited and laughing and probably talking about some customer or maybe Doyoung, his friendly farm rival - in all honesty, Ten isn’t too sure, he’s not paying attention. He almost feels bad for interrupting such flow of chatty excitement.

“I like you,” he says. It’s been too long, way, way too long for Ten’s taste. He turns to look at Taeil, who stops mid-conversation, closing his mouth in a second. “Taeil, I like you,” he repeats, making sure not a trace of mockery is in his voice. He knows he’s a prankster, a tad mischievous, but this time he needs Taeil to know.

“Um.”

His reply is inconceivably _Taeil_. Ten cannot even fathom being upset at the lack of response, not as Taeil busies himself with cutting some of the neon roses at their feet, suddenly clumsy. “I knew that, silly. We’re friends. Good friends,” he kneels down, the flowers have suddenly grown interesting as if it’s the first time Taeil is seeing such a specimen.

Ten raises his eyebrows, he knows the older doesn’t deal with feelings reasonably but he’s not going to let Taeil win, not today. He kneels next to him, closing a hand around the other’s wrist, stopping him.

“I know we’re friends. I mean romantically. Romance. Love. Kisses. Is that clear enough for you, hyung?”

Taeil - finally - turns to look at him, eyes quaking but bright. “That’s scary.”

“It is,” Ten’s shoulder sag, a big weight lifting off from him.

He’s liked Taeil for ages, almost as soon as they befriended each other. Hendery always asked him why, Ten never really had an answer. He just did, Taeil made him feel good and safe, happy. He understands Ten and even though Ten doesn’t think he understands Taeil, he still likes him.

“I was content with just liking you,” Ten says, “But—”

But maybe war changes your perspective on things. Maybe seeing a dead cold body in front of you, bleeding out on the floor, might scare the soul out of you. It makes you think about stuff, about holding on. Ten, usually unafraid, fears.

He doesn’t say any of this, of course.

“I don’t want you getting a boyfriend while I’m out there,” he crosses his arms, “I think Yuta and Taeyong are getting too cozy with you.”

“They’re just friendly,” Taeil laughs.

“Well, I don’t like it. So. I’m confessing right now.”

Taeil pauses and stands up, Ten follows him. He turns his head, looking pensive, hand on chin and eyes unblinking. “Why are you asking me? Do you need me to reply?”

“I—” He hadn’t even thought about the possibility of Taeil rejecting him. In his mind, the biggest hurdle was Ten’s confession. And now what?

He feels his cheeks flush hot, they’re probably red and it’s all his fault, really. God, this is the biggest humiliation he’s had, even worse than that one time in high school. In fact, this is worse because this is Taeil - he wants the earth to swallow him and spit him out in maybe a thousand years into the future and huh, how is Moon Taeil able to bring a galactic mercenary to his knees with just a few words? In Ten’s—

“Ten, look at your face,” Taeil says, eyes wide and mouth open in a grin. This is so embarrassing.

“Leave me alone,” he exclaims, hands going up to his cheeks, feeling as the skin burns. “You could’ve just said ok and go!”

Taeil laughs, as big and bright as the burning stars Ten has seen around the galaxy. “Ten, I’m kidding, I love you too.”

Ten thinks this must be how a supernova feels like. An afire explosion, fervent and wild in nature, his heart beating out of his chest and this is how it feels to be alive, isn’t it?

Instead, he smiles, cheekily, as only he knows how to be, “I never said love, did I?”

It’s Taeil’s turn to flush like a fiery star-tomato.

-

“Your hand is so much smaller than mine,” Ten says. They hold their open palms against each other, each of Taeil’s fingers connected with each of Ten’s, they fit perfectly.

“What are you talking about?” Taeil mumbles with a half-smile against his pillow, still drowsy with sleep, “They’re about the same size.”

“No,” Ten refuses the notion with an adamant shake of the head, “You're _definitely_ smaller.”

“We’re the same height!”

“That's what a shorty would say.”

“No, that’s what someone who’s a single centimeter taller would say."

The silvery starlight from outside takes a peek through the single window in Taeil's room, showering half of Taeil's face and backside in ethereal glow.

"I'm hungry," he says before Taeil can fall asleep back again, "Can we go have lunch?"

Taeil opens a single eye in good nature, humourous, "You eat a lot, you know that? You always wanna go eat. Don't tell me they're not feeding you at the station?"

"Hm, they are, they are," he dismisses with a sniff, "It's just not that good. Sporg food simply doesn't hit as good as human meals. It even makes me miss your food."

"Even?" Taeil says, sitting up as the bedsheets slide from his naked torso, "What the hell? I told you Taeyong and Jaehyun have been giving me cooking classes, don't be so opinionated when you can barely pop instant food into the deltaway."

"I said I miss your food though," Ten sighs, leaning in to pinch the older's cheek, "It's cute. Tell Jaehyun I said thank you for teaching you."

He snorts, just the tiniest bit amused, "You still don't like Taeyong?"

"He's alright, I guess."

"He's having a cookout next Wednesday," Taeil says as he squeezes into his pants. He takes a surreptitious glance at his boyfriend, feigning a nonchalance that Ten could see from a mile away, "Are you going to stay here for a few days? I mean. I know things have been hectic at work but... just wondering."

Ten looks back at him, smiling. Taeil isn't looking at him anymore, pretending to be too busy buttoning up his shirt, but if Ten knows anyone, it is Taeil.

Truth is, things have been busy at the Pluto station, his boss probably needs him as soon as possible. Ten doesn't really care, not when Taeil is red in the face as he pretends it's not a big deal if he leaves or not. Not when Ten could show up dressed to the nines, all cleaned up just to show himself off to Taeyong and Yuta, and smile at them with sharp eyes, yes, he's mine, he would say and Yuta would laugh and Taeyong would offer him cake and Doyoung would snort at them all.

"I'm sorry, hyung," Ten sighs, heart heavy. "I can only stay until tomorrow night."

"Oh, that's fine," Taeil looks at him, earnest, "It's fine, really."

"Next time I'll stay longer," he promises.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here waiting.”

-

Taeil can see it in Ten’s eyes.

They’re still bright, always bright and playful, always holding a million stars in them. But they’re also different now, maybe a little bit wiser, maybe a little bit sadder, maybe both.

The two of them had similar beginnings, familiar roots they could always go back to, something that bound them together. But, somewhere along the line, Ten forged his own path - a path that Taeil knew nothing of, a path that, in all honesty, Taeil _wanted_ to know nothing about.

He can see it in the way Ten’s hands shake sometimes, in the way he wakes up in the middle of the night; sometimes when he’s in a bad mood and all Ten wants to do is to get away from everything and everyone, Taeil lets him. He doesn’t know of the burden Ten has to bear, he doesn’t think he’ll ever know, but Taeil still tries his best to share it with him, as much as Ten lets him anyway.

And when he comes home, with his legs patched up and an aching back, Taeil doesn’t mention them, he can’t do much but kiss the new scars marring Ten’s skin, he can’t do much but hold him tight and whisper in the shell of his ear how much he loves him.

“Tough job this time, huh?”

“You could say that,” Ten still manages to smile as he lays in bed, dark circles under his eyes, deep sigh yet Taeil can hear relief in his voice as well. His red uniform is a little muddy, not that Taeil minds when his own apron, full of dirt and moondust, is dirtying the bedsheets even more. “I like coming home. It’s my favorite part of the job.”

From where he’s laying next to Ten, examining his soft skin and gentle nose, Taeil can see the small hairs on his chin from up-close. He’s come a long way from their high school years, they both have.

“My favorite part of _my_ job are the moonbees. They like me so much.”

“Mhm,” Ten mumbles, “They really do. What do you do to them? For them to love you the most?”

“You should know.”

“I don’t, actually, hyung,” Ten smiles, eyes closed before Taeil swoops in to kiss his forehead.

“It’s a secret then.”

-

In the end, Ten lets go of his dream to have a house by the Venus beaches. _I don't know, I’ve been there many times already, they’ve lost its charm._

Taeil thinks it has more to do with the fact that Ten really likes his farm. It's not the biggest but it's cozy enough for two people - maybe more, if they really wanted to.

“We should go together sometime,” he tells Ten as he helps him pick yellow novaberries from the shrubbery. The starlight above them is bright.

“To Venus?” Ten blinks, “You wanna go there?”

“Why do you look surprised? I like traveling too!”

Ten laughs, going back to picking at the soft fruit, his now longer hair falling in front of his eyes. “Well, if you go who will take care of the moonbees?”

“They won't die,” Taeil acquiesces, “I can ask Doyoung to bee-sit them while I’m gone.”

“Ok, then,” Ten slumps down on the dirt with a heave, dusting himself off. “Let's go next month.”

He raises an eyebrow, “Just like that? Don't you have to ask your commander?”

“Kun can screw it for a bit. They're doing well without me right now anyway.” Ten doesn't really talk much about his job, or his team, for that matter, but if one thing Taeil has learned is that they need him, Ten is good, perhaps too good. Taeil is proud, sometimes he is scared.

“Ten,” says Taeil, static in the air that Ten isn't aware of as he pops a berry into his mouth, “Someday you might not come back to me.”

Ten looks at him, juice dribbling down his chin. He chews slowly, as if assessing Taeil’s words. It's true, what he said, and it's something that Taeil has known ever since he opened the Moon shop, the moment when Ten told him he had been accepted.

When Ten doesn't say anything back, Taeil continues, “And I get it. It’s your job, Ten. I’m never going to stop you from going away. I just—I wish I could let you know how much I love you more often. Just in case of... I don’t know, I just think about it too much and—”

“Taeil,” Ten leans forward, his face just inches away from Taeil’s own, their noses touching. “I just won’t,” he leans even more before Taeil realizes what he’s doing, their lips meeting as the moon breeze blows by, cold. The kiss is warm between them and Taeil can’t help but close his eyes as he takes Ten’s face into his hands, kissing him back. While Ten is presence and reassurance, Taeil is fervor and holding on. He wishes he could go back in time, when he could protect Ten from everything and everyone. “I just won’t leave you, Taeil,” he says into the kiss, “I’ll always come back. Please wait for me.”

Taeil exhales into the kiss, of course he will, Ten doesn’t need to doubt him; he thinks maybe he shouldn’t doubt Ten either.

When Ten leans back, there’s coldness seeping into his body, the lack of Ten’s body makes him shudder. Instead, Taeil smiles and extends his arm as a swarm of moonbees fly up to him, resting on his bare arm. Ten busies himself putting all the novaberries they’ve collected into a pouch. Taeil asks, “Yuta invited me to his house next weekend. I mean, me and everyone else. He wants to show off his new purple water pool,” he pauses. This time, he doesn’t look away, “Do you want to go with me?”

And Ten turns to look at him, a single moonbee flying near his nose, and really, he doesn’t have time to stay here past Thursday - his commander is strict about their breaks.

“Yeah,” he shrugs, smiling and going back to his berries, as if it means nothing even though Taeil lighting up with a smile means the whole world to Ten. “I’ll go with you.”

Taeil smiles back, the moonbees around him dancing and buzzing in happiness, glowing against the stark sky. “I’ll hold you to it then.”

Ten belongs to Taeil, the rest of the galaxy can wait.

-

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are appreciated!
> 
> edit: just wanted to mention that wayv are 100% ten's mercenary squadron
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/ten_taeil) / [cc](https://curiouscat.me/nakamoon)


End file.
